Levirate Marriage and the Family in Ancient Judaism

Introduction

[ xv ] Introduction To understand the constantly changing nature of families, just flip through a photo album. Begin by opening the album to a wedding picture . Captured on the page is a newly married couple, surrounded by parents and siblings. Before the wedding, the parents of the couple, together with their respective children, constituted two separate families . now, those family units have been altered; each, according to our understanding, has gained a member. moreover, the two original families ’ relationship to each other has been transformed; once unrelated, they are now each other’s “in-laws.” If we turn the pages forward to the couple’s twentieth anniversary, we will see more changes. The couple now has children. Brothers and sisters have married and may also have children. Grandparents, aunts, and uncles who were present at the wedding have died. Young relatives of the couple have grown up. It is not uncommon today to hear people lament changes in the family . Families, they claim, are not as close as they used to be. Families are also seen as increasingly unstable, owing to rising rates of divorce and remarriage. In addition, definitions of family are being challenged by an increase in same-sex couples, blended families, open adoption, and couples living together for extended periods of time without marrying. But as our photo album demonstrates, the family is by its very nature a constantly changing entity. Individual families change, swelled by marriage, birth, and adoption, and made smaller by divorce and death. Introduction [ xvi ] A society’s definition of family can also change, reflecting patterns of settlement, understanding of marriage, and other factors. This book explores how the sages who wrote the foundation documents of rabbinic Judaism understood kinship and family. I will argue that while rabbinic literature constructs kinship broadly, asserting that family ties may be created through both blood and marriage, through both father and mother, the primary family unit discussed in rabbinic literature is the nuclear family, comprising a husband and wife and their children.1 This family is defined by the obligations the individuals in it have to each other, in particular the obligations between husband and wife, and between father and children. This focus on the nuclear family prioritizes an adult man and woman’s obligations to their “new” family , the family created by their marriage, over those to their families of origin. Those earlier bonds are not dissolved—a woman remains part of her family of origin (she may inherit from her parents and other relatives , she is required to mourn for her parents and siblings, she is still obligated to honor her parents), as does a man. In fact, the bonds are extended ; each spouse becomes “kin” to his or her in-laws, assuming obligations with regard to mourning, incest prohibitions, and testimony. However, the focus of family law is the nuclear family, and it is the obligations of the husband and wife to each other that take center stage in shaping their relationships with other family members.2 Furthermore, this focus on the nuclear family over the extended family or clan is accompanied by an emphasis on the self over the extended group. The decisions an individual makes about taking on family obligations , specifically obligations to spouse and children, are seen in rabbinic literature as personal decisions rather than decisions made by or for the sake of the extended family. The early rabbis regard marriage and procreation as religious obligations, and these obligations fall on every individual (or, more precisely, on every male Jew). while rabbinic law does assign individuals specific rights and responsibilities in connection to relatives beyond the nuclear family, the individual remains the focus of religious law. when individuals are considered members of a group, that group is more likely to reflect marital status, physical disabilities , or priestly status (to name a few) than kinship ties. Individuals are labeled divorcées, priests, or deaf-mutes rather than members of a kindred. An individual man or woman may be part of many groups from Introduction [ xvii ] the perspective of the law, but he or she will not necessarily have obligations to other members of that group. This work uses as its primary lens rabbinic discussions of levirate, an institution that involves the union of a man and the widow of his childless brother.3 Under normal circumstances, a marriage marks the beginning of a new family unit and/or the expansion...